The Apple Watch has been one of my favourite pieces of technology, ever. I recently switched to a Samsung Galaxy Fold as my daily driver and the only thing that I miss about my iPhone, is the Apple Watch sync.
Luckily, I still have my iPhone around but my point here is that while I can indeed switch away from iOS, there’s not really an overall better Smart Watch than the Apple Watch, at least for iOS users. So, without further ado, here is everything we know, so far, in terms of the Apple Watch Series 6. This is set to be one of the biggest changes to ever come to the Apple Watch!
The Story So Far
I have always been a massive fan of the Apple Watch. I remember making videos on it years before it was launched, such as the ‘Leaks & Rumors’ episodes talking about every piece of information we had about Apple’s super secret project. Then we finally got it, the original Apple Watch.
But unfortunately, the first generation, which came out in 2015 and was announced back in 2014, was not great at all. It was pretty slow, the battery life wasn’t anything amazing and it was extremely expensive. Apple even sold that $17,000 18-Karat Gold model.
With the Series 2 in 2016, they dropped the Gold model, they added 50m Water Resistance, up from the 1m for up to 30 minutes that the original model had. They also increased the screen brightness to 1000 Nits, up from 500, and significantly improved the Processor. The Battery even lasted two days now and we got GPS, so the Series 2 was a very big upgrade.
The Series 3 launched in 2017, adding Cellular support so that you can get a network connection without the need for you to have your iPhone with you. It added an even faster Processor, with the S3 Chip being 70% faster than the S2, which was already twice as fast as the S1 inside the original Apple Watch. It doubled the Internal Storage to 16GB and increased the amount of RAM to 768MB from 512MB.
Then we had the Series 4 in 2018, which was the biggest upgrade to come to the Apple Watch since the original one was introduced. We got a new design (sort of) with a more rounded frame as well as a much larger Display. Also, it had almost the exact same body, so the screen Bezels got significantly thinner. We got another new Processor, the S4, with double the performance of the S3, an ECK Meter, an improved HR Monitor and Haptic Feedback on the Digital Crown itself. This was such a big upgrade.
Finally, last year we got the Series 5, which was essentially just a Series 4 with an Always On-Display, something that I’ve been requesting ever since the original Apple Watch. Having said all of this, the Series 6 should be a fairly big upgrade, considering that we haven’t had once since 2018.
Design
When it comes to the design, we’ve yet to see reports that state that Apple is working on a major redesign, similar to what we saw around the same time two years ago, ahead of the Series 4’s release. This means that it is extremely likely that we would see the exact same design that we’ve seen with the Series 4 and the Series 5, just possibly with some more finishes.
The Series 5 introduced Titanium as a brand new finish and also brought back Ceramic, which we hadn’t seen since the Series 3. We wouldn’t be surprised if Apple ends up introducing one more material option, or at least some different colour options, for the materials that we have now. I’m not sure about you but I think a Ceramic Forest Green or Midnight Blue would look incredible.
Regardless, there is a small possibility that Apple will indeed tweak the design. Ever since the original Apple Watch came out, we always wanted Apple to release a circular Apple Watch, we’ve actually modelled our very own. Whether Apple does this with the Series 6, Series 7 or even later, we don’t know yet.
This is our concept for the next Apple Watch, will it finally come full circle?
We based this design off of the current Series 4 & Series 5. We kept the same design language while at the same time, making the body circular. This means that we still have the same style of the Digital Crown, with the Red Ring and the Haptic Engine. We still have the same Heart-Rate Monitor but with additional functionality, which we will be covering shortly. We still have the same iconic circular Apple Watch Faces, which now look better than ever before on a circular Display. Also, we based all of the colours on the current Apple Watch series 5 offering.
Do leave a comment down below, on what do you think about a Circular Apple Watch and if you want to see more concepts such as this, definitely subscribe and also follow our second Instagram account (@ZONEofCONCEPTS) for more 3D Concepts such as this.
But unfortunately, the Series 6 is likely to look extremely similar to the Series 5.
Display
When it comes to the Display, ‘EconomicDailyNews’ reported back in July 2019 that the 2020 Apple Watch could be getting a microLED Display. This is something that ‘DigiTimes’ also reported back in 2018. Unfortunately, we haven’t had any more recent leaks on this, so do take this with a grain of salt.
Essentially, microLED Displays are the biggest Display innovation since OLED. This is not be confused with miniLED, which is what the November 2020 iPad Pro’s are said to feature, as well as the upcoming 16 inch MacBook Pro’s. Long story short, LCD panels are the most inferior Display technology that we have now.
In LCD panels, the Pixels only provide the colour and not the backlight. Therefore, you need to add a separate backlight layer. This means that the Display will be thick and will consume a lot of power. Also, you cannot have perfect Black Levels, if you have a white text on top of a black surface, the backlight will still have to be fully on in order for the text to be visible, which means that blacks will always look greyish or blueish.
Then we have OLED Displays in which, unlike LCD’s, the Pixels can provide both the colour and the backlight. This means that OLED Displays can be very thin, they consume very little power and they have perfect black levels as you can individually turn the Pixels on and off. The only problem with OLED is that they can easily burn, so their life span is very limited.
Then we have miniLED, which is a fairly new technology and is what Apple is using in their Apple Pro Display XDR. Essentially, it is still an LCD panel, but the backlight is split into multiple smaller zones, 576 in this case, which can individually turn on and off. It still has the downsides of an LCD panel but the black levels are much improved.
And finally, we have microLED, which is essentially OLED with extremely tiny inorganic LED’s, rather than organic LED’s. This means that it has all the advantages of OLED, but without the burn-in issues. Not only that, but microLED Displays can be even thinner than OLED, with even lower power consumptions while also being much brighter. These microLED Displays are really the future and the Apple Watch is indeed a very good candidate for this technology. At the moment, microLED is even more expensive than OLED, so Apple cannot implement this on devices that have a large Display. If you take a look at the first Apple Watch, it was also Apple’s very first device to come with an OLED Display. Whenever Apple is implementing microLED, it will very likely come to the Apple Watch first and is looking like it could come this year.
Specs
What other changes could we see with the next Apple Watch?
Moving on to the specs, the Series 6 will finally feature a bump in performance. The Series 5 did come with the Apple S5 Processor, but this was actually just an S4 with a built-in Compass and the new Display Driver for the Always-On Display. So, we actually haven’t had a performance boost, since the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018. Here’s a fun fact, my Series 4 was perfectly smooth, I had zero issues in terms of its performance.
However, the Series 5 actually lags on me quite a bit. It might be because of the Always-On Display. The Processor has to keep updating that all the time, albeit at just 1Hz, compared to 60Hz. But still, the CPU is running more intensively than on the Series 4 and the RAM is also used more because of the Always-On Display.
Ming-Chi-Kuo did report that the Series 6 will indeed be getting some bumps in performance. This not only includes the CPU getting faster, but apparently WiFi and Cellular speeds will also be improved. Kuo also stated that the Circuit Board will now be made out of LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) as opposed to Polyimide or PI. Dongshan Precision, Avary Holding and Flexium Interconnect will be the primary suppliers.
Special Features
Moving on to the Special Features, this is where we’ll see the biggest changes.
Blood Oxygen Level Meter
The first one will be a Blood Oxygen Level Meter. Based on leaked iOS 14 code that ‘9to5mac’ managed to find, we now know that Oxygen Level Saturation is something that Apple plans to include in the Series 6. Essentially, if the Oxygen in your blood has a level under 95%, you will get a notification alert, similar to how you’re now getting an alert when your heart-rate is abnormally high. Even the original Apple Watch from 2015 had hardware capable of measuring the amount of Oxygen in your blood, ‘iFixit’ found that from their teardown.
However, for some reason, this functionality was never enabled. Some reports are saying that this is because Apple never got the FDA approval for this, so it could be that the Series 6 will now get an improved hardware version of that or watchOS 7 will actually enabled Oxygen Level Saturation measurement on all the previous Apple Watch models that support it as well.
watchOS 7
Speaking of watchOS 7, ‘9to5mac’ managed to find some more code that points towards some upcoming features. These include the ability to share your Watch Face with other users and a brand new Infograph Pro Watch Face that will include a Tachymeter, which will tell you the speed at which you’re traveling.
Aside from this we would also be getting a new Countries Flag Watch Face, which will allow you to pick a flag and have a Watch-Face on top of it. This can easily be done at the moment via the Photos Watch Face. Speaking of the Photo Watch Face, it is said to be getting an improvement that allows you to select photos from a shared album, rather than just your own albums.
Parental Controls will also be added, as well as School-Time for restricting some Apple-Watch apps for when a child is in school. We are also said to be getting an improved Control Centre with new toggles and a brand new Architecture for apps, which will remove the extensions base for apps entirely, meaning that Apps will now fully run on the Apple Watch rather than being extensions to iPhone apps.
According to ‘The Verifier’ who claims that they have some high level sources inside Apple, watchOS 7 will only work on the Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, with support for the Series 1 & 2 finally being dropped.
Sleep Tracking
Now, the third big new feature of the Series 6 is said to be Sleep Tracking. According to some more code found my ‘9to5Mac’, Sleep Tracking will finally be included. As reported by Bloomberg, this will indeed be a feature implemented at the hardware level, rather than just being a software update that will work on older models.
Apple will need to heavily improve the Battery Life, which according to these reports, they wouldn’t be doing, at least not to the amount that will make the battery last for a week. We don’t fully know how Apple will address this, but it is likely that they will use a new low power Chip that will monitor the sound and the movement alongside your heart-rate, when you are asleep. Chances are that you will have to charge it in the morning, before you go to work, as you will need to wear the Apple Watch while you’re sleeping in order for Sleep Tracking to work.
What would TouchID on an Apple Watch look like?
TouchID
A very strange report, coming from ‘The Verifier’ once again, claims that the Series 6 could be getting TouchID. This would either be integrated into the Crown or even integrated into the Display panel itself. That would be amazing but, they’re also saying that this could be a 2021 feature and might just be something that the Series 7 will come with.
Kids Mode
Additionally, ‘9to5Mac’ found references in the leaked iOS 14 code to a brand new Kids Mode, which will replace the current activity rings with something more suitable for kids. Rather than tracking the amount of calories burned, these will just track the amount of movement and will be tweaked with a child’s’ activity pattern in mind. This is a watchOS 7 feature so it will very likely come to all the models from the Series 3 upwards.
Improved Water Resistance
Finally, Ming-Chi-Kuo reported that the Series 6 will be getting an improved Water Resistance. At the moment, we get up to 50m submersion, which is pretty nuts. However, Apple themselves state on their own website that you shouldn’t use it for scuba diving or any other activities that involve high velocity water or submersion below shallow depth. This could be fixed with the Series 6.
Battery Life
Battery Life is said to be improved with the Series 6, now that we’re getting Sleep Tracking. Whether this is done by just increasing the Battery size, or by the new microLED Display, or even both, we do not know. But, Apple will have to do something as the Battery Life on the Series 5 was noticeably worse than on the Series 4 before it.
Release Date
And finally, when it comes to the Release Date, we would expect pretty much the same as always, September 2020. However, this year we might actually see a slight delay because of the current outbreak situation. With this in mind, it could be pushed to November, or in the worst case scenario, to March 2021 or further, although I don’t think it would be delayed that heavily.
Conclusion
So, in the end, what are my thoughts on the Apple Watch Series 6?
Well, it looks like the biggest new feature that most of you will care about will be Sleep Tracking. Aside from that, things such as the new Watch Faces, the Oxygen Level Meter and Kids Mode are likely to be added to some of the previous Apple Watch models as well.
If you were hoping for a major redesign, you might have to wait until the Series 7, or even later, until we finally get something similar to our render.